More Gyro Please!

From the NYTimes:

After nearly five years of follow up, about 275 people in the healthy group developed mild cognitive impairment. People who closely adhered to a Mediterranean diet had a 28 percent lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, compared to those whose eating habits were the least like a Mediterranean diet. Moderate followers of a Mediterranean diet also benefited, showing a 17 percent lower risk than the lowest-scoring group.

A Mediterranean diet also appeared to slow decline in those already diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. Among the 482 men and women with mild cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study, 106 developed Alzheimer’s disease about four years later. But among those who strictly adhered to the Mediterranean diet, risk of Alzheimer’s was 48 percent lower, while risk was 45 percent lower among those who ate a moderate version of the diet.

One of the best eateries I have been to in a while..

...it's called "From Scratch." It has delicious soups, salads, sandwiches, sides and more. It's quaint and the sandwiches in particular are amongst some of the most creative I have seen of similar cafe/contemporary American restuaurants (e.g. Panera, Cosi, etc.). I recommend the prime rib French dip.

Gyoza-San

Over the past week Japan has been rocked by a wave of nearly 500 illnesses directly caused by tainted 'gyoza' from China. For those not familiar, gyoza is a Chinese style of cooking dumplings that is a wildly popular staple in Japan--it also happens to be one of my favorite foods here, hence why the children I teach call me "Gyoza-san".

I am personally upset that I won't be able to stuff myself on my favorite bite-sized salty snack. I am equally disconcerted at both the magnitude of the tainted gyoza's impact (nearly 500 people in 38 of Japan's 50 prefectures) and the preliminary findings as to its possible cause (from the Japan Times):

The head of the Chinese delegation in Japan for talks over recent food poisonings said Wednesday he believes the Chinese-made frozen "gyoza" dumplings were deliberately tainted with pesticide after being shipped from the factory and not during the production process.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the Japanese side in Tokyo, Li Chunfeng stressed that Tianyang Food's factory in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province — where the tainted dumplings were made — has strict and thorough quality control measures that made it almost impossible to mix the toxic substance there.

"I believe that the incident did not stem from structural problems but rather is a specific case," Li, vice director of China's Import and Export Food Safety Bureau at the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said after morning talks with the Japanese officials."

This has sparked wide-spread mistrust of not only gyoza but of foods imported from China on a whole. Aside from the ramifications for the Japanese company responsible for importing and distributing the gyoza, this new gaff in the world of Chinese exports further shatters the credibility of its products and producers in the minds of consumers around the world (now, in Japan despite assurance of this being a 'specific case' apart from 'structural problems').

Looks like, I'll have to wait a while before I dig in again.